Tuesday, 25 October 2016

“Scotland can be considered by many to be a post
Christian nation, many have no understanding of the good news of Jesus and at
times the challenge of making the Gospel known can seem like an impossible
task. But we believe the brave new world of Scotland is not a reason for us to
panic; rather it is a reason for us to pray. As Os Guinness states, “The
ultimate factor in the church’s engagement with society is the church’s
engagement with God”

On the 30th of November 2016 – St Andrews’s Day – we
invite all our members to get together for the specific purpose of praying and
worshipping God together. In order to facilitate this we are urging all
congregations to open their buildings for prayer and worship for a period
throughout the day or to meet together in small groups across the country. We
would also encourage youth groups, small groups and Bible study groups to
consider joining together for a dedicated time of prayer.”

Would
it not be an excellent expression of spiritual solidarity if other Reformed and
evangelical churches within Scotland also participated in this day of prayer.
The Free Church may have initiated this planned day of prayer, but surely we
hope that other denominations, even if acting only at a congregational level,
would also participate in this spiritual exercise.

While
we await the promised resources I append an example of how this has been done
in the past, citing the Act of Assembly of 1690:

“Let us, therefore, humble ourselves by fasting and
praying;—let us search out our sins, and consider our ways, and confess these
and our other sins with sorrow and detestation;—let us turn unto the Lord with
fasting and weeping, and with mourning;—let us firmly resolve, and sincerely
engage, to amend our ways and doings, and return unto the Lord our God with all
our heart, and earnestly pray that, for the blood of the Lamb of God, our sins
may be forgiven, and our backslidings healed, and we may yet become a righteous
nation, keeping the truth, that religion and righteousness may flourish, and
love and charity abound, and all the Lord's people may be of one mind in the
Lord; and in order to all these, that the Word of the Lord may have free course
and be glorified, and that the preaching of the Word and dispensing of the
sacraments may be accompanied with the wonted presence, power, and blessing of
the Spirit of the Lord;—that the Lord would preserve and bless our gracious
King and Queen, William and Mary, and establish their throne by righteousness
and religion, and grant to these nations peace and truth together; and for that
end, bless and prosper his Majesty's councils, and forces, by sea and land, and
these of the princes and states his allies, for God and his truth;—that
inferior rulers may rule in the fear of God, and judges be clothed with
righteousness; and that many faithful labourers may be sent out into the Lord's
vineyard; and they who are sent may find mercy to be faithful and be blest with
success; —that families may be as little churches of Christ; and that the Lord
would pour out his Spirit on all ranks of people, that they may be holy in all
manner of conversation, and God may delight to dwell amongst us, and to do us
good.”

Monday, 24 October 2016

Having
departed from the biblical position that marriage is a covenant relationship, exclusively between a man
and a woman, and accepted that practicing homosexuals in civil partnerships or
gay “marriages” can be ministers, the Church of Scotland has courageously
decided to draw a line in the sand. It seems that those who are in relationships that are neither regular marriages, civil partnerships nor gay “marriages” are ineligible
for induction to local churches:

It
seems that the minister in question is living with a partner but not in either
of the approved unbiblical relationships.
There is inconsistency here – both civil partnerships and gay marriages
are contrary to Scripture, so why not an irregular relationship. (The news report does not make clear whether this is a heterosexual or homosexual relationship.) Why are two unbiblical practices approved but
a third rejected?

A
Church of Scotland spokesman explains, “The Church of Scotland requires its
parish ministers to adhere to church common law, tradition and practice.”
Noticeably absent is the requirement to adhere to Scripture!

A
further question arises. If the
individual is violating church law, tradition, and practice, why does he still
hold office in the denomination? Even by
the liberal denomination’s unbiblical standards he is living in fornication.
Needless to say there will be no discipline.

Prayer is made in Jesus’
Name. In public worship this normally
involves ending the prayer with a statement that we ask these things in his
name; often it is a mere formulaic ending, a theological full stop that says
the prayer is over.

However, to pray in Jesus
name is more than simply adding a standardised form of words at the conclusion
of the prayer. The Larger Catechism devotes
two questions and answers to this issue:

Q. 180. What is it to pray
in the name of Christ?

A. To pray in the name of
Christ is, in obedience to his command, and in confidence on his promises, to
ask mercy for his sake; not by bare mentioning of his name, but by drawing our
encouragement to pray, and our boldness, strength, and hope of acceptance in
prayer, from Christ and his mediation.

Q. 181. Why are we to pray
in the name of Christ?

A. The sinfulness of man,
and his distance from God by reason thereof, being so great, as that we can
have no access into his presence without a mediator; and there being none in
heaven or earth appointed to, or fit for, that glorious work but Christ alone,
we are to pray in no other name but his only.

In saying that it is “not by
bare mentioning of his name” the catechism does not exclude us using the
formula, “in Jesus’ name”, but it does encourage us to consider the work of
Christ as our Mediator as the basis of our approach in prayer.

One means to avoid the
trap of the bare mentioning of his name is to expand upon that formula,
especially by the use of fuller scriptural descriptions of Christ’s mediatorial
role. The sadly neglected 19th
century Southern Presbyterian theologian Thomas Smyth (see:http://www.pcahistory.org/HCLibrary/periodicals/spr/bios/smyth.html
), has a very useful piece in volume 9 of his works, “Forms of Doxology and
Benediction with Concluding Prayers”. Many
are simply biblical quotations; others are biblically based or from traditional
Reformed liturgies.

Perhaps in a later blog I will be able to reproduce the
list using the ESV and updating the language.
But for now they are a useful source and we can do our own modernisation
of the language. Certainly, using the
rich biblical terminology suggested by Smyth will help us move away from a
bland, formulaic and repetitive use of the phrase, “in Jesus’ name”.

FORMS OF DOXOLOGY

.

PART I. For Closing
Prayer.

1. Through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Heb. xiii. 21.

2. Now, to Him that is of
power to establish you according to the gospel of Jesus
Christ : To God the only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for
ever. Amen. Rom. xvi. 35, 27.

3. Through Jesus Christ
who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Rom. ix. 5.

4. Who gave Himself for
our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil
world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen. Gal. i. 4, 5.

5. Now, unto Him that is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us ; unto Him
be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen. Eph. iii. 20, 21.

6. Now, unto the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and
glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim. i. 17.

7. Through Jesus Christ,
to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1
Pet. iv. 11.

8. Through our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be glory both now and for
ever. Amen. 2 Pet. iii. 18.

9. Now unto Him that is
able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; to the only
wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and
power, both now and ever. Amen, Jude 24, 25.

10. Unto Him who loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath
made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be
glory and' dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Rev. i. 5, 6.

11. Blessing, and honour,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Rev. v. 13.

12. Through Jesus Christ
our Lord ; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all
honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

25. We praise thee, we
bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give
thanks to thee, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father
Almighty; and thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, who only art the
Lord, for thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, are most
High in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

26. Through the merits of
Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with
thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without
end. Amen.

27. Through Jesus Christ
our Lord, by whom and with whom, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father
Almighty, world without end. Amen.

28. Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost : As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

31. These things, and
whatever else thou shalt see necessary and convenient for us, we
humbly beg, through the merits and mediation of thy Son Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

32. Through thy merits, O
blessed Jesus, thou gracious Bishop and Shepherd of our
souls, who art, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one
God, world without end. Amen.

33. O God, Holy Ghost,
sanctifier of the faithful, visit, we pray thee, this
congregation with thy love and favour ; enlighten their minds more and more with
the light of the everlasting gospel; graft in their hearts a love of the truth;
increase in them true religion ; nourish them with all goodness ; and of thy great
mercy keep them in the same, O blessed Spirit, who with the Father and the Son
together, we worship and glorify as one God, world without end. Amen.

34. O God, the Father of
heaven, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners. O God, the Son, Redeemer of the
world, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners. O God, the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father
and the Son, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners. O holy,
blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, have
mercy upon us, miserable sinners. Favourably with mercy hear
our prayers, through our only mediator and advocate,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

35. Lord, have mercy upon
us. Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. Spirit of
all grace, favourably with mercy hear our prayers. Glory be
to the Father, &c.

37. For all thy mercies, O
God the Father, we give thanks unto thee always, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with thee, &c.

38. Glory, and honour, and
praise, and blessing, and thanksgiving, and wisdom, and virtue, and riches, and
power, and might, and holiness, and salvation, be unto our God that liveth and
sitteth upon the throne for ever, and unto the Lamb slain.

Hallelujah. Amen.

39. Amen. Blessing, and glory,
and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God
for ever and ever. Amen.

40. Blessing and honour,
and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.

41. Worthy art thou at all
times to be celebrated by holy lips, O Son of God, thou
giver of life. Therefore, the world, in unison with all the
host of heaven, do glorify thee, with the Father and the Holy Spirt,
to whom be praise in the church throughout all
generations. Amen.

42. O Lord, the hope of
Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, forsake us
not, but favourably hear us in thy mercy ; and o the Father, &c.

43. O Lord my God, incline
thine ear and hear, open thine eyes, and behold our
multiplied necessities ; for we do not present our supplications before thee
for our righteousness, but for thy manifold and great mercies. And to the
Father, &c.

44. We ask all through
Jesus, the great Mediator of the Covenant, to whom, with
thee O Father, and thine Holy Spirit, be everlasting praise
ascribed. Amen.

45. We present these, our
imperfect prayers and most unworthy services, in the
all-prevailing name of Jesus, who died for our sins, and
rose again for our justification, and ever liveth to make
intercession for us, to whom be honour and dominion everlasting. Amen.

46. And let thy grace and
blessing, thy love and fellowship, thy direction and
assistance, O heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us and
with all for whom we ought to pray, this day and for evermore.
Amen.

5. Peace be to you,
brethren, and love, with faith from God the Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity. Amen. Eph. vi. 23, 24.

6. May God count you all
worthy of his calling, and fulfil (in you,) all the good
pleasure of his goodness, and the workof faith with power ; That
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you,
and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord
Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. i. 11, 12.

7. Now the God of peace,
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great
Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant — make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Heb. xiii. 20, 21.

8. Peace be with you all
that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. 1 Pet. iv. 14.

9. May God give you an
understanding that ye may know him that is true, and that
you may be in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God and eternal life. Amen. 1 John v. 20.

11. Grace be to you, and
peace, from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us
from this present evil world, according to the will of God and
our Father ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Gal.
i. 3, 4.

17. Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you, through the knowledge of God, and of
Jesus our Lord. 2 Pet. i. 2.

18. Grace be with you,
mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love, 2 John i. 3.

19. Beloved, mercy unto
you, and peace, and love, be multiplied, that ye may be
sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.
Amen. Jude 1, 2.

20. Grace be unto you, and
peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to
come; and from the seven spirits who are before his throne; and
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the
dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth : unto whom be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Rev. i, 4. 5,

21. The peace of God which
passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.

22. The blessing of God
Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon you, and remain with
you forever. Amen.

23. God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep
you : The Lord mercifully with his favour look upon you, and
fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace.

24. Unto God's gracious mercy
and protection we now commit you. The Lord bless you, and keep you : The Lord make His face to shine upon
you, and be gracious unto you: The Lord lift up His
countenance upon you, and give you peace, both now and evermore.
Amen.

25. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of
the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

26. The Lord have mercy
upon you; pardon, and deliver you from all your sins ;
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

27. The good Lord pardon
every one that loveth Him with his whole heart, and
seeketh the Lord God of his fathers ; and the love of God, our
heavenly Father ; the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Saviour ; with the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, our Guide and
Sanctifier, be with you all now and ever. Amen.

28. To thee therefore, our
dear Father, our Creator, Protector, Governor, and Defender, and thy beloved
Son Jesus Christ, our only Prince, Redeemer, Justifier and Advocate, and thy
Holy Spirit, our Sanctification and Wisdom, our Teacher, Instructor, and
Comforter, be all dominion, power and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

29. My brethren! The end
of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober minded,
watch and pray. The Lord be with you. Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, bless and protect you. Amen.

30. Glory be to God on
high, and on earth peace, good will

towards men. We praise
thee, we bless thee, we worship thee,

we glorify thee, we give
thanks to thee for thy great glory, O

Lord God! heavenly King!
God the Father Almighty!

O Lord ! the only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ : O Lord God ! Lamb of God, Son of the
Father, who takest away the sin ofthe world, have mercy upon
us. Thou, who takest away the sins of the world, receive
our prayer. Thou, who sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy
upon us.For thou only art holy ;
thou only art the Lord ; thou only, O Christ ! with the Holy
Spirit, are most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

“Evangelicals remaining within this liberal church
need to make it very clear that they stand against this statement of
inter-faith unity which eradicates the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the exclusiveness of salvation in him alone.
They need to make it clear in the courts of the church that we are not
on shared paths to the Absolute, and that the unity of a fallen race requires a
common Saviour who came to give his life for the world of lost sinners.”

I
am delighted to report that the Church of Scotland Covenant Fellowship have indeed
issued a clear denunciation of this false theology:

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

More Liberal Presbyterian Inter-Faith Apostasy

Having noted the apostasy of the Church of Scotland in signing the St Andrews Declaration on a Shared Humanity which declares “We share a common path towards the Absolute” with Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam, it is not surprising to find their American cousins in the equally liberal Presbyterian Church USA issuing an official statement on relations with Islam which twists Scripture and claims that we must follow “Jesus’ acknowledgment of the commonality of purpose between groups of religious leaders other than our own.” The background to this document is the outcry caused by having a Muslim pray at their General Assembly that those gathered may embrace the true faith, Islam.

For a detailed analysis see the excellent blog “Interfaith Ignorance in Excelsis” by Mateen Elass:

In
the Scottish Presbyterian tradition it was usual to have a catechetical sermon
each Sunday or midweek. This practice preceded the appearance of the
Westminster Shorter Catechism, but the various catechisms that had been used
previously were superseded when the Shorter Catechism appeared. This emphasis is seen, for example, in the
Act of Assembly, 1720.

Act for
Preaching Catechetical Doctrine, with Directions therein.

The General Assembly, considering how much it may
conduce unto the establishment of people in the Christian faith, and to the
promoting of piety in practice, that they be well instructed in the principles
of our holy religion ; do, therefore, recommend to the several ministers of
this Church punctually to observe the acts of former General Assemblies for
preaching catechetical doctrine; and that in these their catechetical sermons
they more especially insist upon the great and fundamental truths, according to
our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, such as that of the Being and
Providence of God, and the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, the
necessary doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity in the unity of the Godhead;
particularly, of the eternal deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
the satisfaction to Divine Justice made by him who is our only propitiation, of
regeneration by efficacious grace, of free justification through our blessed
surety the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith alone, and of the necessity of
a holy life, in order to the obtaining of everlasting happiness; and that they
be earnest and instant in their prayers to God, that, through his blessing upon
their labours, their flocks may be preserved from the infections of dangerous
errors, and engaged to maintain a conversation that becomes the Gospel of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever.

I
think that within the Scottish context, where the liturgical calendar is not
used, this enables a balanced and biblical approach to teaching the Word. When used alongside expository preaching it
guarantees that the most fundamental truths are taught on a regular basis. It is of help to the congregation, but
equally to the preacher as he grows more in a confessional Reformed
understanding of the Word.

I
have taught through the whole of the Shorter Catechism in a congregational
mid-week biblestudy, lecturing on each question and opening it up in
detail. But preaching the catechism is different. I use it is a springboard to explore the
biblical theme, and do not feel a necessity to be exhaustive in what I say –
after all, if this was done on a regular basis we would return to each question
every two years or so.

Yesterday
I was preaching on SC Q 36

Q: What are the benefits which in this life do
accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?

A: The benefits which in this life do accompany or
flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God's
love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance
therein to the end.

We
use Roland Ward’s excellent modernised version, although on this particular
question I prefer to keep the word “grace” rather than his suggestion of “holiness”.

This
was a big topic – four (or five) aspects of experiential blessing covered in
one sermon. I think the framers of the catechism put these into one question
because they wanted us to see the big picture, a panorama of blessings enjoyed
by the believer. So rather than in depth analysis of each we looked at the big
picture of how God blesses the Christian in each of these areas. Yes, you could preach multiple sermons on
each blessing, but that was for other occasions. Here I wanted the people of God to see that
in this life there is a spiritual benefits package enjoyed by believers, and
conversely missed by unbelievers.

What
resources do I use? Interestingly, the
Internet has given us a superabundance of resources. Twenty years ago when I taught through the
catechism I was reliant on printed texts. Now, thanks to digitisation, I
have more resources than I can use. Here
are some from my Kindle that I find useful to supplement the standard
expositions by Watson, Vincent, Flavel, Boston, Whyte etc:

Saturday, 1 October 2016

So what exactly is the
Church of Scotland committed to in the signing of the St. Andrews Declaration
on a Shared Humanity? They herald it on
their web site as a great inter-faith step to be celebrated, but do not
actually publish the statement itself, although there is a link to it.

Some of it cannot be
objected to – after all we do share a common humanity. All humans are made in the image of God,
fallen in Adam and invited in the Gospel to embrace Christ as Saviour and Lord. There is a need for “respect” between
religions, and the denunciation of violence and intolerance are appropriate.

However, what is meant by:

“We share a common path towards the Absolute
and as such we recognize the diversity of paths, texts and traditions that we
intend to respect and foster their respect in others.”

Respect, non-violence and
tolerance are one thing, but to say that we are on a common journey to God, but
taking different yet equally valid paths is to deny the exclusivity of Christ
as the Way the Truth and the Life, apart from whom no man comes to the Father.

One of the points of the
statement is simply a quote from Hindu scripture:

“OM. This eternal Word is
all: what was, what is and what shall be, and what beyond is in eternity. All
is OM” (Mandukya Upanishad).”

But Hinduism is in its
essence pantheistic. For the Christian
“all” is certainly not “OM”. Is the
Church of Scotland by implication denying the Creator – Creature distinction
and the basics of the Trinity?

But the statement does
quote the bible:

“May they all be one, just
as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so
that the world may believe it was you who sent me” (John 17:21).”

Are we to understand that
the oneness Jesus spoke of is a shared oneness of humanity in general and
embraces those of all religions and those of no religion? But the text speaks
of “the world” which stand outside this oneness and can be brought to faith, in
part, through the display of true Christian unity expressed in the Church.

Evangelicals remaining
within this liberal church need to make it very clear that they stand against
this statement of inter-faith unity which eradicates the uniqueness of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the exclusiveness of salvation in him alone. They need to make it clear in the courts of
the church that we are not on shared paths to the Absolute, and that the unity
of a fallen race requires a common Saviour who came to give his life for the
world of lost sinners.

Top of Form

The St. Andrews Declaration on a
Shared Humanity

1. We declare that human beings are born equal and that they all
share hopes and aspirations, paths of fulfilment, paths of suffering, and
dreams within a common journey as human beings.

2. We declare that human beings share the freedom to follow particular paths of
life within the rights and obligations shared by all and contributing to the
common good of humanity.

3. We declare our respect and good-will towards all religious traditions that
follow a path towards peace, common cooperation, and goodness.

4. We share a common path towards the Absolute and as such we recognize the
diversity of paths, texts and traditions that we intend to respect and foster
their respect in others.

5. “For sentient beings, poor and destitute, may I become a treasure ever
plentiful, and lie before them closely in their reach, a varied source of all
that they might need” (Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva III, 10).

6. “OM. This eternal Word is all: what was, what is and what shall be, and what
beyond is in eternity. All is OM” (Mandukya Upanishad).

About Me

With degrees in both philosophy and theology, I have lived and worked in the UK, West Africa (working in theological education) and the USA. As a Teaching Elder I served for 19 years in the Church of Scotland and 4 years in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (USA). I am a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and a member in St Andrews Free Church, Fife.

I am married to my wonderful wife Aileen, who has supported and moulded me over 40 years of marriage - an ongoing project that may yet pay dividends, although it requires great patience on her part.